The Love I Have For You (2)

Fiona turned to peek at me, her blushing face now sulking. "Daddy, don't be stubborn. If you can't overcome this heart demon, you can't leave this forest."

"Daddy will be fine, Fiona. As long as I'm with you."

"Daddy, I'm serious. Anyone who succumbs to their heart demons has not made it out alive from the Forbidden Lands, and this is just the least dangerous area of it. We will venture deeper within, you must take all the chances you have to grow stronger, daddy!"

Her words worked. It struck a sense of panic into my body as I hugged her tighter. I regret agreeing to her... those conditions that took advantage of her seem laughable right now. What am I hugging her for, to her death in the mysterious Forbidden Lands?

"Fiona... tell me more about the Forbidden Lands," I said, after a moment of thinking. It's better to have Fiona get a paper cut from me than dying here, when both of us haven't accomplished our dreams yet.

She climbed down and showed me the backside of her hand. With her finger, she drew a cut on it. "Just a slight cut first, daddy. Minor injuries. I won't even feel it," she said, puffing up her chest proudly.

I had mixed feelings about seeing her mimicking the actions of what I would do to her. She's talked me into the importance of getting stronger right here and now, but... I still feel conflicted. She's making it difficult for me too... I'm only getting information if I cut her first... I laughed. Such a silly little girl. It sounds like blackmailing gone wrong.

I walked over and grabbed Heartbreak off the ground. My steps were steady this time, and so were my hands clenching the handle of the blade.

"Are you ready, Fiona?" I asked, surprised at how calm I was after I made my decision. Yes. Getting stronger to protect Fiona. It's for the best of both of us.

She smiled, her countenance brightening up the black and white surroundings like a beam of light. "I am, daddy. The better question is... are you?"

The sound of footsteps and our breathing resonated around the forest. I squatted down to her, looking up at her adorable face, and gently drew a cut on her hand. Red blood oozed out and trickled down her hand. I caught it in my palms.

Strange. That's what I felt, along with a pulsating warmth in my body. Her blood didn't feel cold like the blood of the people I've killed. I crinkled my nose. It didn't smell disgusting either; it was pleasant. It smelt of her, and I loved it.

I leaned my head forwards and sucked the blood out of her hands. It hurt my eyes seeing the contrast of bright red against her skin and silver hair.

"I'm ready, Fiona. Let's get out of here," I said, lifting her head and dropping to my knees. It looked like a proposal, and it was. I was ready to brave the dangers we'd encounter in the Forbidden Lands and take her away.

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"So Fiona, tell me more about the Forbidden Lands. Why can't we leave before we overcome our heart demons?" I asked, as we walked down the path into the forest, the way from before. There was no deadend this time, and I could see the colors returning, much to my delight. Ever since Fiona brought me out of the darkness, I enjoy the colors of life much more than the gloom and doom of black.

"I don't know daddy, I made it up," she answered, her head turning left and right as she surveyed the surroundings.

"... what?"

"It was to motivate you. You're a very shameless and stubborn daddy. Now that I think about it, it was a good thing to have said that."

I slapped her bottom, feeling speechless. Where did your pure and innocent persona go, Fiona, that you'd start lying to me? The closer we get, the more I question her true self. She was so shy when asking for juice and was so happy at the park, but now...

"Don't lie to me anymore, Fiona, or else I'll get mad." I kissed her cheeks. "Now, tell me what the hell is about this place."

Fiona pointed to the exit of the black forest. "Up ahead is the beginning or the end of the Forbidden Lands."

"Fiona has read little on it, nor is there a lot of information. Mommy, the other kingdoms and even some sects and loose cultivators have tried and explored this place, but to no avail. No one knows what's ahead. But this small little forest is like a test, uh, in better words, a trial that decides if you can enter the Forbidden Lands."

"Then why do cultivators want to enter? For treasures, inheritances, things like that?" I asked, feeling worried about the dangers that lie ahead. Nobody has ever returned alive from this place! Is it worth it to travel through here, just for a faster way back to Glendora, Fiona?

She nodded, not knowing my thoughts. "Exactly as you said, daddy. There have been lots of rumours speculating about what is within the depths of the Forbidden Lands since the founding of the kingdoms. But it must be much older than that. As the kingdoms tried to expand, the Forbidden Lands were in the way of conquest, but nobody knew about it before then."

Fiona paused, thinking about something. I continued to walk to the light at the edge of the forest with her in my arms.

"But there has been a rumor recently that Fiona heard from a cultivator who travelled with me and my old daddy back then. When he returned, we heard that he suffered severe trauma and terrible nightmares. He'd by crying out 'monster,' 'spare me!' and 'I regret it, jumping off the cliff' in his sleep. Fiona never took his words for truth and investigated properly as I was more concerned about old daddy's health..."

She lowered her head onto my arms, lamenting about her naiveness of the past. I rubbed her stomach as I reached the edge of the forest. A fresh breeze of wind furrowed my clothes as the deafening howl that followed sent chills down my back.

"Cheer up Fiona, we are here now. The cliffs that lead to the abyss... let's see if we can find some clues."